Javelin Throwers

History of the work

On the lawn between the bank of the Aare and the entrance to the Schönau gymnasiums at Lindenauweg 1 stands a bronze group by Marcel Perincioli. Wikidata lists javelin throwers, a man and a woman as its subjects and gives its size as 190 centimetres high, 125 centimetres wide and 85 centimetres deep. The list of works on the Perincioli family website dates the 'Speerwerfergruppe' (javelin thrower group) to 1960/61, the city's data to 1961.

The two gymnasiums with a caretaker's flat were built in 1955 and 1956 on the Lindenau estate. They followed a competition among eight invited architects in 1951, won by F. Neuenschwander. The building inventory describes them as functional buildings fitted well into the terrain that close off the large sports ground to the south, and expressly singles out the bronze on the lawn as important.

Perincioli, born in Bern in 1911, trained with his father Etienne, a sculptor from Piedmont, and then continued his studies in Paris with Charles Despiau and in Berlin with Wilhelm Otto; in 1943 and 1944 he worked in Germaine Richier's studio in Zurich. According to the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, he became known above all for athletes and dancers in stone and bronze. The city of Bern gave him its art prize in 1947, 1948 and 1953, and from 1961 to 1966 he was president of the Society of Swiss Painters and Sculptors. He died in Bern in 2005.

The group by the Aare should not be confused with the 'Great Javelin Thrower' at the Haus des Sports, which the list of works dates to 1963/64, SIKART to 1964 and the HLS to 1963. Also in 1961 he made the 'Great Runner', which stands in Magglingen and in front of the school in Rüfenacht. Walking round the Schönau group, you see the figures from changing angles; according to Wikidata the bronze is signed.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · perincioli.ch: Verzeichnis grösserer Arbeiten von Marcel Perincioli · Bauinventar Stadt Bern: Lindenauweg 1 (PDF) · Wikidata: Speerwerfer-Gruppe (Q64032197) · SIKART: Marcel Perincioli (Johanna Strübin Rindisbacher) · HLS: Perincioli, Marcel (Matthias Oberli) · Wikipedia (de): Marcel Perincioli · Wikimedia Commons: Bronzeplastik Speerwerfer-Gruppe (Marcel Perincioli 1961)